Married?
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: Rose and the Doctor have an interesting, confusing conversation, to say the least...  Hope you enjoy! x
1. Married?

**A/N: Just a little bit of silly Ten/Rose fluff. If this isn't a conversation you ever envisaged the Doctor and Rose having, don't take it too seriously, it's just a bit of fun. Basically, take this how you want :D Hope you like xxx**

**Married?**

"And you're married, yes?" asked the tour guide.

They looked at each other, fighting back giggles. "No, no. Not married," the Doctor answered, at the same time as Rose assured, "God no. Definitely not."

The guide frowned. He'd been convinced that they were together. He shrugged indifferently though, and led them through the forest, walking a few metres in front.

"What do you mean, 'god no, definitely not?'" he asked her after a moment, slightly insulted.

Rose looked at him as if he was stupid. "Because we aren't."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, but you made it sound like it'd be something disastrous if we were."

"No I didn't," she replied, a little tetchily. Because really, what he just said couldn't be further from the truth, for god's sake!

"Yes you did. It was like you couldn't imagine a worse possible thing." He was aware that he was sounding a bit like a sulky little boy, but he couldn't help it. They were best friends, weren't they? And he was perfectly pleasant. How bad could being married to him be, exactly?

"Are you saying it wouldn't be?"

"No." They'd make a good couple, wouldn't they? He thought so. He was...well, you know...quite fond of her, after all. Not that he'd ever tell her that, but still.

"No it would, or no you're not saying that?" she asked.

"I don't know. What was the question?" he asked distractedly.

Rose sighed. "You're so annoying."

"Is that why you don't want to marry me?" the Doctor asked.

She frowned, and turned to face him again. "You've never _asked_ me to marry you!" she exclaimed, thoroughly perplexed. And also kind of intrigued as to where all this was coming from. He'd never indicated or instigated any interest other than friendship with her before. She was his companion, his plus one, his best friend; but that was it. Of course, she loved him to death and everything, which was probably why she really wanted to see what he'd do if she suddenly just turned around and kissed him right now. Actually, she always wanted to do that. But that was beside the point, because she was still very, very confused about why he was talking about this, so...

"No, I haven't. And...well. You'll never know if I was ever going to now you're being all anti-Husband-Doctor, will you?" he answered, his tone bordering on _whiney_. He took a few steps forward, but Rose stayed rooted to the spot. "You coming?" he called back snappily.

Turning slowly to follow him, she had the most adorably confused expression on her face that he'd ever seen, and his spirits were immediately lifted. Her face had that effect on him.

Funny, that. 'Cos it wasn't like he was infatuated with her or something.

(Okay, so maybe he was a little bit infatuated. Big deal. No one _realised._ So it was fine.)

"Doctor," Rose began slowly. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Don't you mean, 'What on Fedrusia?'" he chuckled, poking his elbow out so that she could link her arm with his as they walked after their guide, who had apparently resolved not to talk to them considering they were having a bit of a _domestic_, if you'll pardon the word.

Said _domestic, _if you'll pardon the word, was about to get even more confusing.

"Whatever," she dismissed, with a wave of her free arm. "Basically, what was that supposed to mean?"

"What's that?" he replied, feigning ignorance.

"The thing where you said that I'll never know if you were going to ask me to marry you or not," she clarified exasperatedly.

"I think that's pretty self-explanatory."

Rose took in a deep breath. She was just going to go for it, and ask him her question, straight to the point. "You were going to ask me to marry you?"

The Doctor looked at her with wide eyes and gestured with his hands. "Wh-what? Well. Um. Er... Who knows? The future's the future. But now you've expressed your deep distaste for marriage to me, I would imagine that all the 'could happens' involving exactly that have just diminished out of possible occurrences."

"Are you saying that five minutes ago, it was possible that some time in the future we'd get married, but now we won't because I _apparently _sounded outraged by the idea even though I didn't know it was even an idea at the time?" she asked.

"Sort of...but I said that I might've asked you, not that we _would._"

"So you think I'd say no," she stated.

"Evidently."

"Right. Got it."

"Got it?"

"Yeah. You're an idiot."

"Thanks," he scoffed sarcastically.

"No, really, you are," she insisted.

"Oh. Why's that?"

"Because that conversation we just had didn't make any sense."

"It made perfect sense."

"No, it really didn't."

"You're the idiot, then, because it made perfect sense to me."

"Oi! " Rose exclaimed. She poked him in the ribs. Hard. "It's just...I never know when you're joking or not."

He rubbed his side with an exaggerated 'owww.' Then he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, realistically, that's never gonna happen, is it? You, _proposing _to me."

"Not anymore it's not," the Doctor grumbled, now _very _insulted. He was also very glad he hadn't bought her a ring. Not that he _actually planned _on proposing at all; this was all hypothetical. Honestly! But still._ Insulting_.

"You see, this is what I mean!" she cried, pulling away from him and stomping a few steps in front. "It's all cryptic clues and riddles with you."

He caught up with her but didn't take her arm back. He had a feeling she was angry with him, though he wasn't sure what he'd done to initiate that. "What's cryptic and riddle-y about that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

"Oh my _god, _you're annoying!" she exclaimed.

"Second time you've said that today."

"Yeah, well. It needs repeating. You _are_ annoying. There you go. Three times."

"That's a bit rude."

"Says you," she retorted, before sighing wearily. "I'm just getting my point across."

"I don't think you really have a point," he mumbled.

"Neither do you."

"Not a leg to stand on," he continued.

"Neither do you." She paused. "Hold on, what are we talking about now?"

"Not wanting to marry me."

"Did I even _say _that?" she asked, exasperated.

"Not in so many words," he answered.

"_Exactly!_"

"Is that a yes, then?"

"Are you asking?" she retorted, with a disbelieving snort.

"Might as well," he sniffed.

Rose sighed. "S'pose it'd save on the explanations. You know, all the 'oh no, we're not married, just friends' thing that wastes so much time," she pointed out, starting to laugh.

"Exactly," he agreed, smiling.

"And you'd have my mum as a mother-in-law."

The Doctor turned visibly pale. "Ah."

Rose smirked. "Aha, that's got you worried."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Still, I think the benefits outweigh that slightly huge negative."

"Yeah?" she asked, an eyebrow raised, interested to see how far these teasing would go before he steered their conversation away from this dodgy area.

"Yeah. I've got a time-and-space-ship. Just think of the honeymoon," he answered nonchalantly.

"Honeymoon?" she gulped. He had absolutely no idea what images he'd conjured up in her mind with that one word. Needless to say, those images had nothing to do with all the fabulous destinations he could possibly pick from...

"That's what humans do, don't they?" he commented lightly, shrugging again.

She inhaled a deep breath. "Yeah, but..."

"But what?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

Okay. Look. She just had to be frank. Blunt. She couldn't let this continue when he was being so oblivious. Didn't they have honeymoons on Gallifrey or something? Honestly, he was completely ignorant. Deep breath, hesitant smile, and, _go_: "You do know what humans spend all their time doing on their honeymoons, right?"

"Course I do. Scuba diving," he retorted seriously. As Rose's smile dropped off her face, he couldn't help but laugh. After a few moments, he recovered from his chuckling, and looked at her meaningfully. "Well. Honeymoon's a honeymoon. We wouldn't be able to argue with tradition, we might jinx...something," he improvised, and he laughed again when her mouth fell open in shock. "What's up, Rose Tyler?"

"N-nothing," Rose stuttered, trying to get her head around this weird and frankly exciting conversation. She knew he was just messing around...but...well, the seriousness of his gaze..._is_ he joking, or...?

"You look like you've just stumbled across Wonderland."

Her mouth twitched in amusement. "Not wearing quite the dress for it."

"Are we talking blue and white as in Alice, or white and lacy as in Wedding?" he remarked.

She swallowed, unsure of the answer to that even herself. "Um..."

"Course, if we got married on Nini-fi Eight, you'd have to wear burgundy, and I'd have to wear blue."

Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Let's not get married on Nini-fi Eight."

"I agree," he said, nodding. "Firstly, burgundy is not your colour - "

" – hey! It so could be! And what, _blue_ looks any better on you, does it?"

He continued, ignoring her remark resolutely, "And b, they have this tradition where they don't even _eat _the wedding cake. Instead, they offer it to their Gods. What's that about, eh? You can't not eat the wedding cake! That would be my favourite bit. Aside from the 'kiss the bride' bit, of course," he considered thoughtfully.

Rose laughed. "Oh, that's the reason you want to marry me, is it? For some cake and a snog? Well, you could have that without all the fuss of vows and stuff. All you have to do is ask." She thought for a moment, walking to a stop. "Scratch that. You don't even need to ask. Just launch yourself at me and it'd all be fine." She grinned at him impishly to show him she was joking. (Even though she wasn't.)

"It'd be more than 'fine,' Rose Tyler," he insisted, with a decisive nod of his head as he pictured that very scene.

"I bet it would," she replied. Oh god, she couldn't physically stop. She _had _to flirt back. He was...him, and he was talking about...stuff...and he was so...oh, she loved that man and...and right now he was staring at her strangely. She cleared her throat, and started walking again.

"So when shall we do it, then?" he asked her, playfully elbowing her in the ribs when he caught up with her again.

"Do what?" she asked, surprised that he wanted to continue this conversation. Wasn't this all a bit too _domestic_, if you'll pardon the word, for him?

He looked down at her like she'd just dribbled Merusian Pear juice down her chin. "Get married, obviously."

"Oh. Um. I dunno. Tomorrow?" she joked.

"Tomorrow it is," he answered, beaming happily.

...


	2. An Actual, Sort of Proposal

_**An Actual, Sort Of Proposal**_

"Rose?" he called softly, knocking on her bedroom door.

Inside, she lifted her head from her pillow in surprise. The Doctor never knocked. He usually just barged straight in like he owned the place. Well, fine; technically he did own the place, but still. You'd've thought he'd leave Rose's bedroom strictly for her – privacy and all that. But since day one she'd realised that wasn't going to be the case on the TARDIS. Her space equalled his space equalled her space.

She couldn't say she minded, though.

"Yeah?" she called back, wide awake despite the early hours. Well, the relatively early hours, going by her human digital clock on her bedside table. It blinked 6.30am at her in an invasive red, and she ran a hand through her tangled hair as she yawned.

"Oh!" she heard him answer. "You're awake, that's good."

"Yeah, I've been tossing and turning all night thanks to your comments yesterday," she muttered to herself, climbing out of bed. She wondered why he wasn't coming in, but got up and opened her door for him anyway. "You alright?" she asked.

He was standing in front of her with his eyes closed, and nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, fine! More than fine; brilliant!"

"O...kay..." she said slowly, puzzled. "Why have you got your eyes closed?"

"What are you wearing?" he mumbled.

Her own eyes widened in shock. "_What?"_

He sneaked open one eye, and sighed in relief when he saw she was just in her pyjamas, before opening his other eye. "Didn't want to jinx anything," he explained nonchalantly, tucking his hands in his pockets.

Rose stared at him blankly. "Right. Can you tell me what you're going on about? It's too early for mind games."

"I'm not playing mind games!" he retorted indignantly, apparently scandalised. He looked her up and down, trying not to linger too long on her bare legs. She wore a very nice pair of pyjama shorts that he often appreciated greatly. But now was not the time to get distracted. That would probably jinx something too, he pondered.

She caught him staring anyway, and folded her arms tight across her chest self-consciously. Which wasn't particularly helpful, the Doctor mused, if she wanted him to stop looking at her. "What's going on?" she demanded.

The Doctor sniffed, trying to appear indifferent. "Just wondered when you were planning on getting ready."

She watched him with a suspicious gaze as she backed into her room, gesturing that he could come in. "Dunno," she answered, glancing around her messy piles of clothing. "Probably should do a bit of washing, really; I don't think I've got anything to wear."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! The washing machine's broken again. Sorry. I'll fix it later, promise."

Rose rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "We both know that's not gonna happen," she giggled, opening one of her drawers and searching through it for some underwear. "It took you five months to get around to fixing it the last time it broke!"

"Yes, well," he coughed awkwardly. "I've been busy. Anyway! You took the opportunity to a) buy new clothes – _loads _of new clothes – on just about every planet we visited, remember – with me as bloody chief bag-carrier, I hasten to add; and b) you made use of the wardrobe room a lot more, which was nice." Rose raised an eyebrow. "For you. Nice for you," he continued hurriedly. "To get to wear different sorts of, uh, dresses and stuff..." he trailed off. It had certainly been very nice for him, too. The TARDIS had provided her with some really quite lovely fabrics and shoes and such. And Rose did love to dress up when she could, to experience a time or place more authentically. He couldn't complain, however long she sometimes took to get ready in the mornings; she looked beautiful whatever she wore, but in some of it she simply looked _divine, _and –

He cleared his throat. Well. Anyway.

Oh dear, he realised absently, as he cleared his thoughts, I'm staring at her bra. Can't have that.

He turned and sat on her bed patiently. Rose continued to stand there, black knickers in one hand, dark pink bra in the other, waiting for something. "What?" he asked, baffled.

She huffed in mild annoyance, and wandered over to her bathroom, seeing as the Doctor was apparently not moving from his position to let her change. "Make yourself useful," she called once she was inside, not closing the door all the way so that he could hear her. She took off her vest top and pulled on her bra. "You pick something for me, yeah? Something that'll fit in with wherever we're going?"

The Doctor swallowed thickly. Either Rose had failed to remember their arrangement of yesterday – in which case (though of course he'd never admit this to another living soul) his hearts were abruptly sinking – _or, _she had no appreciation for Earth tradition – in which case, she was a bad human citizen, in his opinion. Of course, not every human followed the superstitious rule, but still. Insulting.

"But it's bad luck," he called back to her, crossing his fingers in hope. "For me to see it beforehand."

She ducked her upper body around the doorframe, and his right heart jumped a bit at the teeny, tiny glimpse of bare stomach and bra-encased left breast he could see.

Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish. "What did you just say?" she gasped eventually.

His gaze met hers and he pouted, well aware he was reducing this to a playfully-sulky joke but absolutely needing that to fall back on if she didn't follow through with what, in his case, at least, was intended to be a deadly serious and meaningful event. "After all that talk yesterday," he chided jokingly. "_Now, _you're rejecting me? Tut, tut, Rose Tyler. Bad form to accept a man's proposal for marriage and then snatch that acceptance back just twelve hours or so later." He grinned at her affectionately. "Of course, if you've suddenly realised I'm not worth the millions you thought I was..." he joked, shrugging.

She blinked at him.

"Rose?" he prompted. "Listen, you can't stand there like that all day; you'll give yourself a stiff neck. Maybe stiff shoulders."

And quite possibly, the Doctor thought naughtily, as he watched her chest heave rapidly, give _me_ a –

"Doctor," she murmured. "Are you kidding around?"

"Maybe," he replied, his eyes flicking back up to hers. "That depends on what your answer is."

"Why can't you ever give me a straight answer yourself?" she sighed, frustrated.

"Me?" he snorted. "What about you! You agreed to this last night. Now you're pretending the conversation didn't even happen!"

"Yeah, 'cos I thought you'd want it that way!"

"I never say things I don't mean. Weeellll, not to you. Weeellll, not the nice things, anyway. For instance, I called you a stupid ape, once, but I didn't really mean that."

Rose smiled. "I think you probably did, at the time," she countered gently.

"Well, it isn't true, at any rate," he dismissed, with a shrug of his shoulders. "In fact, you're the most remarkable ape I've ever met," he grinned, eyes twinkling.

She stuck her tongue out at him in response, and stepped out of the bathroom.

The Doctor's grin vanished and he hastily tried to remove his jaw from the floor, where it had apparently decided to drop at the sight of Rose in just her underwear. If his right heart had jumped a bit at seeing the glimpse of her he'd been seeing before, at this new vision of delightfulness, both his hearts stopped, restarted, and were now pounding at an exponential rate. "Remarkable indeed," he confirmed quietly.

Rose giggled. "Try not to drool, Doctor. It's not becoming of your Time Lord status and superior biology, am I right?"

"Probably," he replied honestly. Then his eyes snapped up to hers. "Oi! I'm not drooling!"

"What shall I wear?" she asked him seriously, no longer looking at all self-conscious as she adopted her confident, challenging pose, hands on her hips.

He briefly longed to be her hands at that moment, but shook himself out of those thoughts with a jolt. He wasn't sure why he was becoming so...ahem, _human, _all of a sudden, but since last night, the prospect of a honeymoon with Rose in the near future had his mind wandering to all sorts of places he usually tried to reign in his mind from attending - at least, until he was around fifty feet away from her.

"Hmmm," he pondered distractedly. "Something white, perhaps?"

She inhaled sharply and fixed him a penetrating look. Instead of asking him what he thought she might ask, however, she surprised them both, really, by saying, "You could've corrected my colour choice of underwear, then."

The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Does that mean - "

He cut himself off without realising, as he watched Rose turn around and bend over, opening another drawer. She span back around quickly, white, lacy replacement garments in her hands, and retreated to the bathroom.

The Doctor stared after her, hoping she was being serious now. He suddenly jumped up, realising he ought to smarten himself up a bit. He peered at himself in her dressing table mirror, running his hand over his chin and wondering if he ought to shave. He then ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he ought to go and find some gel to style it a bit more...sexily.

And _then, _he caught sight of Rose's reflection, and it occurred to him that it was probably the most erotic thing he'd ever witnessed.

Now in white versions of what she was wearing before, she was on her hands and knees, reaching under the bed to pull out a large box. The Doctor turned swiftly and braced his palms against her dressing table to lean back and watch her beautiful back muscles ripple beneath bare skin with the effort of dragging out the box. She must have sensed his gaze on her, because she glanced back at him over her shoulder and grinned.

"You could help me, you know," she laughed, finally heaving the box fully out.

"But then I wouldn't have such a nice view," he murmured.

"Maybe you'd have had a better one," she countered teasingly. "A _closer_ one, anyway." Her flirty wink almost made him growl in reply, but he restrained himself, trying not to let his imagination get too carried away by her remarks.

"What's in there?" he asked curiously, in order to distract them both.

Rose smiled softly. "Memories. Keepsakes, souvenirs, photos. That sort of thing. Both from before I travelled with you and during."

"No wonder it's heavy," he realised, and she chuckled her agreement, opening the box and sitting back on her haunches.

She glanced back at him. "Come here," she requested softly.

There was no need for him to be told twice. He sat down beside her, his back against her bed and his long legs stretched out in front of him.

Rose reverently lifted out a folded white dress from her box of treasures, and placed it on her lap, fiddling nervously with the shimmering lace material and not meeting the Doctor's intense gaze.

"Rose?" he murmured gently, touching her hand. "What is this?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? It's from _your_ box of memories and souvenirs."

"Yeah, but...well. It's not mine. Well. It is mine. But it's not, you know, a sentimental heirloom or anything. I...sort of, maybe, bought it, one day."

He raised an eyebrow. "You bought a wedding dress? On a whim?"

"Sort of. It wasn't in a wedding shop or anything. It's just, I saw it, one day – when we were in that market on Vadabambooska – and I thought it was so beautiful, I just had to buy it. It was the only one of its kind, too. Unique. I liked the idea of having something that special."

"So you...stored it away in case one day you met a nice man and decided to marry him?" the Doctor grumbled.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. I didn't even think of it as a wedding dress. It wasn't advertised as one or anything. I thought if you took us to some alien ball or something, I could wear it there and you might - " she broke off, her cheeks colouring a deep red.

"Might what?" he asked quickly, squeezing her hand.

"Like it. Like me in it. It fits perfect, see, and I thought perhaps it'd be the dress of all dresses. One that would really make you pause and look at me," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Oh, Rose. I never stop looking at you."

She finally met his eyes, starting to smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he assured her, stroking her wrist with his thumb. "Course, now you've gone and jinxed it, showing me this before the ceremony! How many times did I tell you not to?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry...thing is, I thought I'd never get married," she confessed.

"I thought every little girl dreamt of their big, white, fairytale wedding?"

"Nope, not everyone. Not me. Especially since..."

"Since?"

"Well, since I began travelling with you."

"You never consider the prospect that one day, you'll leave me to go have a husband and a family of your own on Earth?" he asked. Because he did. He considered that prospect every day of his life with her, and prayed – however selfish of him it was – that it would never happen.

"Never!" she laughed. "Just like I never considered the prospect of you playing human and proposing to me!"

"You could change your mind," he pointed out sadly.

Rose shook her head. "No I couldn't. I want to be with you forever," she whispered, holding his gaze.

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Rose shivered, breaking the spell. "I should...get dressed," she suggested, biting her lip.

He didn't let go of her hand as she stood, and she tried to gently tug hers away; but he held on steadfastly. "Rose," he murmured, swallowing thickly.

"Yeah?" Her voice wavered as she spoke.

"Will you marry me?"

She gasped, eyes wide as she let her dress fall from her hand in surprise.

"Properly. For...for real, not just a silly little game..." he nervously added.

"Doctor..." she began hesitantly.

He interjected before she could continue. "No, wait - don't say no, just listen. I know you think I was just joking around yesterday. I know you think I was just suggesting all this for a lark. But nevertheless, you went along with it. You went along with it, and you changed your underwear, and you got out this gorgeous white dress - " he paused, holding it up to her as evidence. " – and that, that, to me, suggests that you were willing to follow it through."

"I - "

"Hang on, just let me..." he interrupted, before sighing in frustration. He stared up at her, willing her to understand. "You never thought you'd get married and have that life. And that's alright, because you met me, and this sort of life – the travelling and adventure and...and..._companionship _sort of life _– _well, maybe you've been content with believing that's what you were destined for all along." He averted his eyes then, and stared at the dress in his hand before speaking quietly, "But maybe you just haven't counted on the fact that maybe, if you want, you could have both." He paused and waited. She didn't reply. He plundered on, "Because really, weeelll – you've practically made your vows already, pledged me your forever and all that, and I...I haven't, have I? I haven't yet made my promise to you, so..."

"Doctor," she spoke softly, and he looked back at her instantly.

"Yes, Rose?" he answered nervously. He watched her kneel back down on the floor, closer to him this time.

She took in a deep breath, as if about to speak. The Doctor held his in anticipation. Everything was silent and tense for a few seconds, and then...

Rose decided that some things were just too hard to express in mere words, so she pulled him by his tie until their lips joined together. He covered his surprise at her actions by framing her face with his hands and kissing her back, shifting to accommodate her in his embrace as she pushed herself closer to him, wrapping her free arm around his waist.

Before things could get too heated, the Doctor pulled back slightly. "Rose," he whispered across her lips.

"Yes," she replied, almost-silently. "I think we should."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "One question, though: if that tour guide hadn't assumed we were married yesterday, would this kissing thing even be happening?"

"I suspect I wouldn't have been able to stop it happening eventually," he murmured. "I've been running away from this – you and me - for too long. I've always wanted this."

She tilted her head to look at him in suspicion. "You never said..."

"Didn't want to scare you away now, did I?" he countered.

"Ahhh, that explains it."

"Exactly." He grinned at her playfully and kissed her again, before pulling away just as swiftly. He jumped up, and Rose – bewildered by his sudden movement – almost toppled onto the floor. "I'll let you get dressed. I'll set the co-ordinates."

Rose arched an eyebrow and was about to retort, when he sprinted from the room at a speed that would rival a cheetah.

Well then, she thought, starting to giggle. Looks like she's getting married today!

...

_**A/N: Okaaaay. So this went in a completely different direction to what I thought it might. In a good way, I think...Hope you liked it :D **_


	3. An Actual Wedding

_**An Actual Wedding**_

**-x-**

Rose stood up, holding the dress out in front of her as she admired it. She bit her lip, nervous, excited, about what the day would bring.

"Rose," he whispered in her ear from behind her. She gasped – she hadn't realised he'd returned to the room.

"Yeah, Doctor?" she murmured shakily, barely resisting the urge to lean back against him.

"I brought you a present," he continued, his breath hot against her neck. Still, he did not move, and she felt like she couldn't turn around or an illusion would shatter.

"Where is it then?" she giggled.

The Doctor extended his arm around her, and she saw that he was carrying a silver gift bag in his hand. She took it from him eagerly, and was just about to turn to face him and say thank you, when she abruptly felt his presence behind her disappear. She spun around anyway, and saw for sure that he had left her room again. She sighed to herself, but then smiled when she looked at the gift bag now in her hand, pleased with his thoughtfulness.

She sat down on her bed and opened the bag, pulling out a small velvet box. Her breath hitched, and she opened it quickly...to find a pair of diamond-studded earrings.

Oh.

Not a ring, then, like she'd half-expected. Still, she thought, removing the earrings from the box to put them on, they were very gorgeous, and would go lovely with her dress.

It was when she was replacing the box back into the gift bag that her hand brushed something else inside. Something soft, something..._satin_? Confused, Rose brought the item out to examine.

She stared at it for approximately four point three seconds.

And then burst into delighted laughter.

**-x-**

Rose stepped into the console room, the trail of her dress flapping out gently as she moved. The Doctor's eyes were instantly drawn to her, situated as he was at the console screen, and though his position did not change – except for the imperceptible movement of his hand tightening its grip of the screen - he regarded her with a look of absolute adoration. She almost melted onto the TARDIS grating, but thought that he might have something to say about that, so refrained.

He didn't say anything, because from the teasing look she had in her eyes, he knew she was up to something mischievous. He arched an eyebrow, waiting patiently for what she was going to say or do.

She didn't disappoint him. Allowing a small grin to occupy her face, she seemed to glide towards him, and he took his time to gaze over her form, delighting in the way the beautiful dress did – as Rose had promised – fit her perfectly. He also considered that she wasn't wearing any shoes as yet. He knew this because her height had not changed, of course; but also because she made no sound as she stepped up to him. Nor did she topple precariously as if walking in heels. She was graceful and elegant and he wanted to take her gently into his arms and kiss her reverently.

Then again, her angelic appearance was juxtaposed by the devilish glint in her eyes, thus he equally wanted to pull her roughly against him and show her the passion he felt for her, the passion that bubbled beneath his apparently calm and unaffected exterior. But that could wait. It must.

He couldn't help it, then, when he spoke her name; his voice gravelly and low around the syllables he loved to say so much. He cleared his throat, and her smirk grew more profound.

She touched him; but barely. Her fingers lightly danced up his forearm, before allowing her palm to rest in the crook of his elbow. "Doctor," she replied, tilting her head.

He was enraptured by the expression on her face. After a few moments, he blinked purposefully, and glanced back at the console screen. "Nice, sunny day," he mumbled.

Rose giggled. "Where are we?"

He swallowed. She really could make the most simplest of questions sound so very sultry.

"The planet Pont Pont, in the constellation of Adrua. Beautiful place; nice - "

She kissed him, cutting him off, and he realised belatedly that that was what she was planning. She had been waiting for him to start talking, start being normal, start giving his pink and yellow human the same sort of normal talk he usually did, about planets and all they contained...in order for her to spring a surprise kiss upon him to remind him that things were changing between them.

Pffft. As if he could forget. She was here, centimetres from him, in antique diamond earrings (something old) and a long, white, flowing dress (something new). Hopefully, if she'd accepted his other gift, she was wearing something blue. That just left borrowed. Hmmm...

"Rose?" he mumbled against her lips, causing her to draw back.

"Yeah?" she asked breathlessly, her grip on his arm tightening.

He moved swiftly, settling his hands on her waist and looking deep into her eyes. "There is a matter of great concern that we need to address," he said mock-gravely, and she saw the mirth in his eyes and grinned.

"And what might that be?" she asked, tongue between teeth.

"You need to wear something borrowed, too," he informed her sagely. He cocked his head thoughtfully. "I wonder what we could use...aha! You still need shoes!"

"I'm not borrowing your converses to wear with this dress," she muttered.

"I'm sure there's a nice pair of heels somewhere in the wardrobe that you can borrow," he shrugged.

Rose nodded. "Okdokey. I'll go take a look." She pressed another kiss to his lips, meaning it to be brief but lingering there when his hands pulled her closer by her hips. She finally broke away, flashed him a winning smile as she picked up her skirts slightly so she wouldn't trip over the hem, and rushed off in search of some borrowed footwear.

He stared after her for a moment, and then shook himself out of his daze. It suddenly occurred to him that she hadn't asked or expected him to change out of his pinstripes. For this he was grateful; not because he was opposed to changing into something special, as such – more so that he was worried that if he put on the Tuxedo of Doom, their day would be swiftly ruined.

**-x-**

When she returned, Rose sat on the jumpseat and raised her leg to rest against the edge of the console, showing off her newly acquired silver strappy shoe. "What do you think? These do?"

The Doctor stared for a few moments. "Lovely, yes," he mumbled distractedly.

She caught his eye, then, and couldn't resist teasing him a little. Her hand went to the skirt of her dress, and she pulled it up towards her, exposing her leg and flexing her ankle this way and that. His gaze was locked with hers, but after barely ten seconds of self-restraint, he gave in and turned his eyes to her leg again, watching as material hitched higher, revealing her knee. He swallowed thickly, and his hands trembled slightly in anticipation.

And then she was standing up, and the dress was back in place, and he let out a partly-frustrated, partly-relieved sigh.

He held out his hand. She took it, and he led her out of the TARDIS.

**-x-**

The wedding was a small affair, and that was just what Rose liked about it. It was her and the Doctor and a couple of strangers they'd picked out of a crowd whilst eating chips on a park bench and surveying Pont Pont's finest marketplace. The strangers were there to act as witnesses, and they threw Pont Pont's version of confetti over them throughout the ceremony, which Rose had to struggle not to giggle over. Seeing the Doctor's perfectly styled brown fluffy hair scattered with what was basically blobs of pearly white edible paper was very amusing indeed, especially when he glanced up and realised, a frown flitting over his face in frustration.

The frown soon disappeared though, replaced by a soft smile as he stared into Rose's eyes, and then they both turned their attention to the vicar-type-person, who was reciting a very different set of vows to what Rose had expected. The mischievous look in the Doctor's expression alerted her to the fact that he'd given this Pont-Pontian some humorous instructions in this regard.

"Do you, Rose Tyler, promise to hold the Doctor's hand and not wander off; or at least, not wander off _too much? _Do you promise to stay with him forever and not run off with a pretty boy from planet Earth or Other? Do you promise that you will never tell Jackie that you got married without her there?_"_

Rose muffled a snort of amusement and the Doctor's eyes twinkled merrily at her. She gave her answer, "I do." She wondered what the vicar-man-alien would request the Doctor to promise.

She wasn't quite prepared for what came next.

"Do you, Doctor, promise to love and cherish Rose Tyler for as long as you both shall live?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and she gulped. The Doctor just smiled tenderly in her direction and murmured, "I do."

"Then I now pronounce you - " the vicar person began, but neither Rose or the Doctor were paying attention any longer. Instead, they went in for a snog.

He ran his hands down her ribcage, kissing her sweetly, tugging her against him. In retaliation, her hands went to his hair and ran through it like she'd wanted to do for months.

The vicar-person cleared his throat pointedly, and the Doctor and Rose pulled back. They thanked him and their strangers/witnesses, joined hands, and fled the ceremonial hall. As soon as they were in the corridor and out of sight, the Doctor kissed her again, gently pushing her backwards with his body.

"We did it then," she mumbled against his lips, starting to giggle.

"We did," he chuckled back, bumping his nose against hers affectionately. "We certainly did."


	4. The Consummation

_**The Consummation**_

_**-x-**_

She stumbled, and his hands shot to her waist to keep her upright and pressed to him. His hand followed silk down to her thigh, which he caressed lightly as he backed her up against the wall.

Rose kissed him back with a ferocity that made his impatience increase exponentially. He tugged at the material of her dress, pulling her leg up around his hip so that he could slip his hand beneath the long skirts to touch her bare thigh. Well, almost bare. His hand brushed against his earlier gift, a TARDIS-blue, satin garter, and they both shivered, before breaking the kiss and giggling to themselves, foreheads pressed together.

"I've decided I like tradition," Rose murmured.

"Me too," he replied, his fingertips tracing around the garter. "Especially this one," he finished, before somehow sweeping her up and into his arms unexpectedly.

Rose squealed in surprise, and her arms flew around his neck to hold on. He started to walk in the direction of the TARDIS, his pace quick and with purpose.

"Can you use your key?" he asked, as they arrived outside the doors to home. "I've got my arms full," he winked.

She giggled and undid her necklace to retrieve the key she had dangling from it, hidden beneath her dress. There was something she found comforting about holding the key so close to her chest, to her heart, everyday, and hardly ever did she not wear it.

As soon as she reached out and unlocked the door, the Doctor was rushing through, careful not to knock her legs against the wood as he carried her over the threshold. Once inside, he leant back against the doors and let out a long breath. "Wow," he murmured. "That's another human thing for the day." He didn't look remotely remorseful about that; in fact, he grinned down at her in joy.

"You can put me down now, if you want," she smiled.

"Now, why would I want to do that? I rather thought I'd carry you to the bedroom."

"Fine by me," she replied happily. "Just thought I was heavy, that's all."

"Oh, you are," he teased. "I'm doing my back in, here."

"Oi!" Rose exclaimed through laughter.

He chuckled deeply as he took her through the console room and down the corridor. He stopped, and watched her as her eyes glanced back and forth between their respective doors. Their bedrooms were opposite each other, so it didn't really matter, he supposed, which one they used; but he waited for her to choose.

She realised he was looking at her and turned her head back to him. "I don't mind," she pre-empted easily, before he'd had the chance to ask her which bedroom she'd prefer their first time to happen in.

The Doctor suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"What's so funny?" she asked, bemused. She reached for the door handle when he took them to his bedroom door, and opened it for him.

He stepped inside. "I was just thinking; we should probably use mine. I'd like to sleep with you on a regular basis, and I'm not sure I can deal with all the pink and mess of your room. Plus, this room's never seen such activities before. It must feel neglected. We'll make it ours."

Rose smiled. "My room's 'never seen such activities' before, either, silly."

"Good. Still, like I said. Pink," he mock-shuddered and Rose giggled.

"Yeah, but your room's just as messy," she pointed out, nodding towards the books and papers scattered about the place.

"I don't have clothes strewn across _my _floor," he countered.

"Well," she replied, voice low. "We'll have to do something about that, then, won't we?"

At that proclamation, the Doctor kissed her appreciatively, whole-heartedly agreeing with her suggestion. He dropped her on the bed, and she bounced a little, giggling again. He loved it when she laughed; it was his favourite sound in the whole universe.

"So!" he exclaimed brightly. His gaze swept over her in contemplation. "Where to start?" he mused, earning him an eye roll from Rose.

"You can take off all your clothes if you like, Doctor," she grinned.

He grinned back, and climbed onto the bed to hover above her. "Why don't you give me a hand with that, _Mrs_ Doctor?"

"I can't believe you just said that," Rose groaned. He smirked and leant down to kiss her sweetly.

"Well, you are my wife," he replied as he pulled back.

She bit her lip, holding in a squeal of both shock and happiness at their current situation. "I can't believe we just got married. Literally a day after you first suggested it. Two days ago, I never even thought I'd get to kiss you on a regular basis, let alone..."

"Did I rush you too quickly?" the Doctor murmured anxiously.

"No! No, it's...it's spontaneous, just like our life. And I love that!" she assured him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He leant his body more firmly into hers, pushing her into the mattress with a gentle pressure. Their close proximity made her realise something suddenly. "Um...okay, I've got a bit of a query, though." She cleared her throat, and he looked at her expectantly. "When we have sex in a minute, are we going to need...you know, contraception? Condoms? 'Cos I stopped taking the Pill ages ago, and I know we're now married and everything, but I really,_ really_ don't think I'm ready to accidently get pregnant with an alien baby!"

"_Part-_alien," he corrected softly. His eyes burned into hers intensely and she considered that she really had no idea what he was thinking at that moment in time. He coughed awkwardly, and the look in his eyes tampered. "And no, it's fine. Humans and Gallifreyans are _technically_ compatible, but there'll need to be a little bit of tinkering-of-genes required, so to speak, before we can make a baby."

Rose breathed out in relief. "Right. Good."

He smiled, and kissed her briefly on the lips. "Nice to know you value safe sex, Rose Tyler."

"I'm a very sensible girl," she agreed.

"Regarding this, perhaps. Running off with a complete stranger in a time-and-space box? Being unable to resist investigating mysterious circumstances, even when I'm not nearby to help? Not so much," he pointed out sagely.

"Yeah, well. I trusted you. And I can't help it if I'm a bit curious..."

"A _bit_?" he laughed.

"And you love rescuing me," she smiled.

"I'd prefer not to have to, though," he replied, tucking her hair behind her face tenderly. "I don't want to lose you." That intense look in his eyes returned. "Not ever."

"You won't. I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him, stroking the back of his neck with her fingertips.

"Good," he said firmly, trying to ignore the inevitable; that her sentence would be a lie, eventually. One day. Far, far from now, when she was over a hundred and walked with a zimmer frame, he envisaged. She'd put off death for him. She'd live as long as humanly possible for him. She had to. He didn't know what he'd do if she didn't.

He kissed her again.

**-x-**

The Doctor awoke before dawn (or what constituted as dawn on the TARDIS, in terms of Rose's body clock) and smiled into her hair as he held her. They'd fallen asleep with him spooned behind her, and they'd remained in that position through the night. The Doctor's hand rested at her bare hip, and one of his legs was entwined with both of hers beneath the covers. Her hair tickled his nose but he loved the sensation. Loved the way her curves felt so right against him. Loved _her, _more than he ever thought it possible to love a person.

He tilted his head forward and claimed a smooth shoulder with his lips, kissing her softly, before running his nose along the skin between shoulder and neck, inhaling her gorgeous scent and giving the experimental lick here and there - one 'there' in particular being a spot under her jaw that made her make a small moan in her sleep. His lips curved into a smile and he moved to her earlobe, sucking it gently, before whispering in her ear something from his own language; a language he barely spoke anymore. It was so right, he thought, that he should speak it to her; especially in this context.

"Mmm, that's beautiful," she mumbled sleepily, eye still closed and tilting her head back more to fit in the curve of his neck. He nuzzled her hair in a silent thank you. "You should speak Gallifreyan more, it's so lovely to listen to," she continued, yawning widely.

The Doctor chuckled deeply at her perceptiveness. "Yeah, I should," he murmured, his voice slightly croaky with emotion.

"What's it mean?" she asked, twisting her head around opening her eyes so that she could meet his gaze.

His lips quirked into a wry smile. "There's...not a... _literal_ translation, really. It's too..."

"Epic?" Rose grinned.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, actually. There's no English phrase for it because it was too rarely spoken even on Gallifrey. It is epic. It's an epic...emotion."

"Give me a rough idea?" she suggested softly, turning in his arms and snuggling comfortably against his chest, one of her hands lazily tracing his spine. He shifted against her pleasant touch, and swallowed thickly before he could focus on giving her an answer.

"Hmm? Oh, weeelll, I..." he trailed off, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Rose yawned, still sleepy, and smiled into his chest, where she could feel his hearts beating far faster than they ought to be when resting like this. She took in a deep breath, before making her reply.

"I love you, too, Doctor," she whispered, her lips moving against his bare chest.

He shivered, and hoped to everything that he'd heard her correctly. "Hmmm?"

"I love you. So much. More than...anything," she confessed breathily, speaking a little louder. "There. That's all I can say in English. It must be so...inadequate, compared to what you said. Teach me to say it how you said it?"

The Doctor nudged her temple with his nose, urging her to look up at him. "Of course it's not inadequate," he denied softly. He kissed her arching eyebrow. "It's perfect. But if you want, I'll teach you the Gallifreyan later."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," he affirmed. "You should sleep now – you're still sleepy, I can tell."

She nodded tiredly, tightening her hold on him. "Stay?"

"Always," he assured her, squeezing her back. When it looked like she was on the brink of falling back asleep, the Doctor dropped his voice lower to whisper into her hair, "I love you, Rose Tyler. Always and _forever."_

Rose smiled.

**-x-**

"Soooooo...I'm thinking Hawaii..." Rose mumbled sleepily, turning over in his arms.

"What's that?" he mumbled back, his lips moving against her forehead as he stirred into wakefulness.

"Honeymoon," she clarified, kissing him sweetly.

The Doctor opened his eyes slowly, blinking down at her in confusion. "Hmmm?"

"Our honeymoon," she repeated, arching her eyebrow. "You said we'd get a nice honeymoon."

"Yeah, but Hawaii? How very...conventional. I think I also said something about a time-and-spaceship, which means - "

"Nah, I just thought maybe there was a planet called Hawaii. You know, like Barcelona?"

"Oh! Well, no, there isn't. Tell you what, though! There is a planet called Mauritius! Gorgeous there – you'd love it!"

"Mauritius it is!" she beamed happily.


End file.
